Neighborhood folks

Here are Robinson's Paddling Pigs at the Pasco County Fair. (The black one is Sarah Padlin). These pigs run around a course and then dive into a pool and swim twenty feet before exiting into a chute where they are rewarded with oreo cookies.
This is where we live! Our friends in the big city, where we still have half a foot, don't get it at all. It's not that we spend every available moment gazing at trick piglets, or that we are not interested in big city culture. Indeed, we live with classical music, go to concerts, visit museums in major cities of the world, and read the local and national press.
We love working hard to keep this small ranch going. It's intriguing to us to know these folks who are our neighbors, the ones who know all about cows, hunting for the meat they eat all year, who trade vegetables with us, had McCain/ Palin signs in their yards and speak in the mellow southern cracker cadences they were born to. I love these folks and we would do anything for each other.
But it's true, we do need more. And it's coming to pass that we are making friends in this community among educated people who "get it" about living the rural life. This evening we had a wonderful supper of collards and salad from our garden, local strawberries and other bounty grown around here, home made bread, some fish too. Our guests were the usual science geeks. Before dinner we sat out on the front porch as the light faded, watching the cardinals and listening for the cranes and owls. For once, none of us talked much politics, though there were references to columns in the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.We spoke of the gardens we all have. I'm loving these last minute gatherings where someone brings oranges from their grove, another one brings the shortcakes to underpin those wonderful strawberries. Everyone pitches in to help set the table or clean up afterward.
The stars are brilliant and splendid, but I know it may cloud up and perhaps rain tomorrow (we hope!) I never imagined that I could be so happy.

Neighborhood folks

Family reunion

Here we all are- the part of the family who came to the February gathering at the ranch. We had all our children and their offspring, aunts, uncles, niece and nephew, sister, in- laws and dog. We had come from a large sit-down dinner with birthday cakes and I made them all sit still for this photo.
Doing this sort of thing is arduous but full of love. Everyone has to have a place to sleep. Some of them just came for the day. As Tolstoy said, happy families are all alike. Well.. maybe. Certainly ours is not dysfunctional. No one shot anyone and there were not even any hard words spoken. We laughed a lot and the young cousins played with each other and the hot tub was full of family. We even managed to have some moments to really hear what these kin had to say.
It seems so strange to me that Andy and I have the role of being the pater/mater familias to this large family. (In my heart I am still ten years old!) But now, as we are approaching seventy, our children still see us as seamlessly able to do anything, pay for anything, maintain a wonderful life in perfect health.
So far so good. Hard to tell them that, as with so many, we too have lost out to the bad economy. The 529's for the grandchildren have shrunk as also have our investments for the rainy day. We worry, and like everyone else in these times, we economise in many ways.
Our children will have to negotiate a pretty different world from the 'enabled' one they were accustomed to. Their kids haven't yet got a clue. They are still honking about the latest electronic thing they want.
When Japan had the economic downturn in the 90's and there was the bad decade, everyone got used to not spending. They are still in this mode. And we in America will do it too. Hey, what have YOU bought recently? Probably not much.
What this has to do with family is that we are in new times. We must talk to each other, trust each other (unless they are bankers!), and help each other out. Mom and Dad might not be the financial rock they once were. Kids may have to take jobs they might have once thought beneath them. We'll get through this but it may take some time. Remember, we have an extremely intelligent president and team who think about this night and day.
As with this wonderful family of mine, our country will prevail.

Valentine

Here are Andy and his youngest grandchild, Quincy, fixing a broken part on the wooden truck Andy made for him. It was a horrid task to do but Quincy persisted and he and Andy got out the tools and set to work.
I love to see the two of them, so trusting and loving of each other. Having grandchildren gives you another shot at repairing the idea of your better self. When our own children were young, we so often did not have the time to fix stuff for them..
This old white haired guy is still the love of my life. We have known each other for fifty years, since we were in college. I knew immediately that this man was a good and interesting person and we could be in the long haul together. We navigated the world of being in the "sandwich" generation: just between our parents who took it for granted that the wife would raise the kids and do everything domestic and the husband would bring home the bacon, and the next generation who negotiated everything. With us, I always worked outside the home, but also I expected to do everything domestic. It was exhausting, but at the time it was expected.
Gradually, our deal shifted. We became equals. We talked our heads off! We came to be able to do the domestic things we wanted to do and were good at. Andy is a wonderful and creative cook and he does that. I love to be outdoors so I do the garden. I like to clean up stuff, so I do that.
But whatever deal a couple feels is right, the main thing is being interested in each other. When both of us were working full tilt, we often felt unappreciated by each other. This happens and you begin to feel that you would do better elsewhere. Kids ravage a marriage as everyone knows. Kids also are so incredibly wonderful (even as toddlers and teenagers!), you clutch each other in bed late at night, holding your breath for the fragile magic of them.
Then the children go, and you hope you have given them your best. They may or may not like you. Parents wish them well, and if you are as fortunate as me, you now have a lot of time with this guy you married so many years ago.
I love the rhythm of the days we spend together, our routines, our friends, the wonderful place where we live embedded in the natural world. I love our many conversations about everything and anything. I love the edginess of our conversations, I love our questions to each other, and our observations. I love talking about people, books and the articles we read. I love our arguments and our walks. I still find him fascinating.
In the almost fifty years of our marriage I have never, not once, doubted Andy's integrity. He has never cheated on taxes or me. He always conducted his company in the most honest manner. He never wanted to shoot anything and he never kicked a dog(No skeletons in this closet!) He has never taken a short cut. He is extremely generous to the community and to our huge family.
Sometimes I wish my husband was more demonstrative, but, hey, everyone knows this is a guy thing.
In the long run I believe that the most important thing for a long term relationship is that you keep up the respect and communication and that you actually have stuff to TALK ABOUT, and laugh about.
So, I celebrate Valentine's day. We will not give each other roses or Hallmark cards. We will have a spell in the hot tub, massaging each other and enjoying the waning moon overhead. We will then sleep in our lovely bed (with the dog) and think of the day tomorrow when all our progeny arrive.
Happy Valentine's Day!

The Coldest Day Yet!

When I drove out to get the papers this morning it was 21 degrees! Turned on the seat heater and wished there was a steering wheel heater as well. Since we have so many below freezing nights we have not smelled that acrid odor of the first freeze. But this morning I did. I supposed it was the swan song of everything green left. Even the strong vegetables that have indeed 'hardened off' were a bit limp. I read that this is the coldest it has been in ten years. The mounds of hay I put over the vegetable garden really kept most things alive. We'll watch the citrus and hope it isn't as dead as it seems now. My flats of seedlings really need to be put out, but I am going to give them a few more days inside and see if this wonderful warm weather holds.

Ten years ago we were oblivious to everything but work. We were living in that sprawling funky house in south St. Pete, and only came up here on the weekends. When you don't live day to day in a place, you don't understand the rhythms of live there. So I can't remember any freezes.

A new saw was delivered to Andy yesterday. This is the mainstay saw of his workshop, replacing an ancient one that finally gave out. He spent a day happily assembling the thousands of bolts and gismos, then rearranging the various machines he uses in his furniture building. I have a new camera with many amazing features. So both of us are getting acquainted with our new tools. We are helping the economy, I say. But really, each of has carefully researched these tools we need. Our old ones had ceased to function.

Stay tuned for some changes to this blog. I want to include more information and recipes for locally grown food, more links to other stuff, something about books.

Look for robins returning and keep you fingers crossed for great weather.

Obfuscations and Confabulations

This evening as I was sitting around small tables in the media center (library) of the local school where I participate in community organizing we were eating gorditas. These small round culinary bombs had been prepared by some of the mothers and there was a bowl of lovely green sauce I liberally applied to the top of mine. At the first bite, my eyes nearly left my head. As the tears poured down my face, I assured them that yes, I really like things hot!

My task this evening was to help with a drama program for kids and moms. They were in the early stages of producing a play about barnyard animals, complete with singing and dancing. The moms were there to practice English. They were supposed to be paying attention to the Rosetta Stone computer program for English while their kids rehearsed with their drama coach, a lovely young man who teaches third grade. But the moms took this opportunity to have a 'girls' night out' and they chatted and giggled in the background. Everyone was having a great time, talking about their kids and recipes. Just a lovely simple evening activity for everyone there. The kids were happy. No one was discussing the economy or taxes. These Hispanic farm worker families have major problems in getting through life issues sometimes. It takes years to get these families to have enough trust to be able to come to these events.

Spending time with this part of my community is a great corrective for me. Who are those people who won't have t.v. when the digital signal goes into effect? They are here in this little desperately poor town.

We have become so embedded in the bureaucratic web, nothing seems easy - especially to people on the margin. They do not regard the internet as the most important advance in their lifetimes, they do not fill their leisure time fooling around with this new computer application or that program. And they certainly do not have the stretch to master the intricacies of all the forms that one must hurdle, especially if one is poor.

When Tom Daschle got into his tax problems, I was not very sympathetic. Ditto for the many others. However, as I spent a whole morning filling out the federal tax forms, Florida unemployment tax, and W-2 for a woman who cleans our house once a week, I had more heart. There are manuals as thick as my thumb and they require constant flipping back and forth and trying to decipher the meanings of what in hell to put in Box 5A? And of course, one has to keep records of all that is paid out and when. I think every year as I do these things that I should apply for a job as translator for tax bulletins. The difference between me and the ilk of Tom Daschle is that I believe in paying taxes; it's the responsible thing for a citizen to do. Not paying taxes for the people who care for you or your family is criminal, unethical, and inhumane. No excuses for this.

That said, it's hard to be on the right side. It's just easier not to pay because the paperwork is so tedious and hard to understand. Why can't this be a LOT easier??

I cannot even imagine how hard it would be to apply for unemployment benefits, food stamps, SChip or Kidcare. I cannot imagine how someone who had lost their house to foreclosure could wend their way through the new stimulus money to maybe get a decent place to live.

There is a disconnect between the goal and the process and so many get lost in it. Getting there has got to be easier!

So, when my husband severely cut his hand on a band saw a few days ago, we went to the local emergency room. Here was a guy bleeding and in pain and they needed to interview him (for the paperwork!) as he held his hand in a bloody rag. In this country we have the capacity to deal with incredible things! Obama's desire to digitize the health system could have helped here. Just tend to the presenting problem and then, when the name of the patient pops up on the computer, the complete record from wherever comes up. I asked the interviewer if she could access Andy's primary care doctor. Of course not. We have a Medicare Plan, and no doubt we will be billed in dribs and drabs over the months to come.

But what about those moms and kids at Lacoochee Community? Will they have done the voluminous paperwork to be enrolled in a program for health insurance for their kids. Will they even know about it?

All I am saying is that in all these wonderful programs I hope will be forthcoming, they need to be understandable and doable.

Still Frozen

The sand hill cranes don't seem to mind all this frosty weather we find so unusual. Like the humans who have come for the big game today, they seem to find it balmy compared to those northern places they come from. They are pairing up very noisily and soon we'll begin to see those fuzzy reddish chicks.
Another morning of below freezing temperatures. Even Lola, the canine bed warmer, couldn't take the edge off the chilliness. Our twenty year old house is not geared up for the cold. The heat pump mostly puts out cold air. When Andy started poking around in the fireplace to add more logs to what had burned down during the night, a mouse scampered out. He promptly trapped it, another trophy. Outside, under the orange trees there was a very large and snarling raccoon in the trap. We have been giving these critters to a neighbor who distributes them to people he knows who actually think of them as food. (along with squirrels, possum, and rabbits, I'm told.)
I know that lots of the people who make their lives in this rural area have always relied on local food sources, and we see more of it now that so many have lost their jobs and credit. Many of these folks hunt and freeze the wild hogs and venison to eat all year. They put up jars and jars of collards and greens and field peas and tomatoes. I have always wondered why they do this since vegetables grow here year round. They fry the turkeys they kill in fryers filled with oil.
We have so far saved the vegetable garden. Every morning when the sun gets a bit of warmth, I remove all the sheets doing warming duty on the beds of lettuces, greens, peas and broccoli. The beets and collards are hardy enough to take anything. I was so pitiful about the loss of the orchids and pitcher plants that my friends and family who visit these days arrive bearing wonderful blooming orchids. These are now safely taking up room in the kitchen and I smile every time I see them.
The situation in Kentucky where the severe weather knocked out all power for so long does humble me. I know that warm weather will eventually return. Meanwhile I can enjoy what I once thought was a pretty ridiculous feature of my car- heated seats.